Co-sleeping is when parent and caretaker sleep together. It can be in the bed, on the floor, on the couch, in a chair... where ever.
Advantages:
* It is easier for a nursing mother to feed her baby at night.
* Close proximity means caretakers respond more quickly to baby's needs, reducing anxiety
* It aligns with the carry animal instinct, baby is right there safe and warm
* Some research indicates that baby breathes better and heart rate is more steady when co sleeping
Disadvantages
* Every year babies die from being smothered, strangled by blankets, or falling between the bed and the headboard
So, I love the list of possible advantages but if I'm risking my baby's life, is it worth it?
A possible compromise is a co-sleeper cot that attaches to the side of the parents bed. The baby sleeps in the safety of the cot next to the bed and is very close to the parents.
Or, another choice, is a baby bed that goes in your bed. It keeps baby next to you but safer.
What about you? Where did you put your baby to sleep?
Annotated Bibliography
Maximizing the chances of Safe Infant Sleep in the Solitary and Cosleeping (Specifically, Bed-sharing) Contexts. Dr. James J. McKenna, U of Notre Dame.
Emphasizes that the decision can only be made in the context of the family situation. Breastfeeding, non smokers, non obese and the surface the baby sleeps on makes a difference.
Co sleeping: yes, no, sometimes? AskDrSears.com http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes
A huge article with a lot of information about both research and anecdotal evidence for co sleeping. Highlights: helps regulate baby breathing and heart rate,
Co sleeping and your baby. Kids Health. http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/cosleeping.html
Overview of advantages and disadvantages of co sleeping
We tried all kinds of arrangements. He wouldn't sleep in his crib at all, leading to 2 totally sleepless nights after we came home from the hospital. (Also leading to us giving in on the paci option - something we were totally against until then.)
ReplyDeleteAfter that, we tried cosleeping - daddy & baby on a thin cushion on the floor. That worked for a good while, but it meant mommy & daddy not getting to share a bed anymore. Eventually, we ended up sidecarring his crib to our bed. (Like this: http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your-crib-into-cosleeper.html) That lasted until about 9 months when we moved him into his own room (with daddy on a mattress in the room, as needed, at first).
We also had one of those in-bed sleepers, and hated it. Our queen-sized bed was not big enough to make that comfortable.
After my c-section lifting my daughter out of a crib or bassinet was near impossible and she refused to sleep unless being held so I did some research and read the vast majority of deaths involved overweight parents, smokers, cat owners and of course falling between headboard and mattress or suffocating in the sheets.
ReplyDeleteWell we weren't overweight, non smokers and no cats in the house. We made sure there was never a gap between mattress and headboard and kept the sheets under our armpits and baby higher up.
Also read there is a DECREASE in the SIDS risk with breastfed babies Co sleeping with the mothers. There was also never an incident with a breastfed mom and her baby. You're so in tune with your baby is incredible.
So with Daddy at one end, mommy at the other and baby in my arms rolled toward the inside of the bed we were able to get much needed sleep, breastfeed without even waking Daddy (who woke up really early for work)
It was nice. Towards the end of the three months I found the Snuggle Nest you refer to and it worked as well.
After 3 months we started transitioning her into her bassinet - then into her crib. When she woke up for her 4/5am feeding Daddy would go get her and bring her to me then get ready for work and we'd feed and snuggle and sleep that way till she woke up again at 6/7ish.
That was great. At 6-9 months we transitioned to her in the crib the whole night.
It was hard. I missed her, actually missed her and she was one wall away.
Now I fall asleep on her baby-faced nursery floor while she plays at 6:30 am :)
We had a sidecar for both kids. We used it way more when they were newborns and I was worried about the pillow or blanket smothering them. Neither one did as well in the sidecar as they did in bed with us. The hormone cascade between a breastfeeding (not under influence of drugs/alcohol/cigarettes) mom and baby, or dad and baby keeps you from smothering them. We moved Zoe to her crib when she was sleeping through the night, around 6 months. We moved Jim when we figured out that he and Rose were waking each other in the night, around 12 months. When she was out of town, he could sleep through. When she was home, he woke every 2 hours!
ReplyDelete